The Krauska Family Blog

May 2, 2014

Toledo Bend

Brandon signed up to be a Marshall in the Bassmaster Elite Series fishing tournament at Toledo Bend last October. He found out in January that he got picked so we made plans to go to Louisiana for 5 days and enjoy a little road trip and fishing! Papa also got chosen as a Marshall, so he and Grandma would be going on this trip as well. Before we left, I looked up online what there was to do in the town we would be staying at and the town the tournament was in. There was nothing expect a Walmart and maybe 3 fast food restaurants. The more I thought about it, I decided that the kids and I would come down ourselves on Friday instead of trying to find things to do for 5 days. This way Brooke didn’t miss her Mother’s Day Out school day or dance on Thursday.

Brandon and Tony had to be there on Wednesday by 3pm for a Marshal meeting and then got to meet their Pro Fisherman and eat dinner together. Brandon got put with Casy Scanlon and Tony got Stephen Kennedy. After day one of fishing, I could not wait to hear how Brandon’s day went. I was so excited for him and knew he would have a great time being out on a boat all day fishing with a pro. He had a great time and had some funny/interesting stories to tell!

The next day, day 2 of the tournament, Brandon got matched with the pro Ish Monroe and Tony would be with Grant Goldbeck. Having a different pro each day was cool for Brandon because he got to see different people fish, their techniques and just different styles of fishing. He really seemed to be having a good time.

Brooke, Luke and I left Friday morning to head to the Lake to meet up with Brandon, Papa and Grandma. I was looking forward to seeing Brandon come off the lake and hear how his day went. This was my first driving trip by myself with both kids and one that was 4 and 1/2 hours. The kids did great and we only stopped once for a picture and restroom break when we got into Louisiana!

We got to the lake around 1pm and Brandon would be coming in from the lake at 3:15 so we had some time to waste. We walked around, the kids played in the sand and got in the lake some. The beach area was nice and the kids loved it here. There were only a couple of other kids so it wasn’t busy at all.

We then got to see Daddy come off the lake and Brooke and Luke were so excited to see their Daddy! He wasn’t sure if he would be picked to be a marshal on Saturday so after the weigh in they had a meeting and he was the last marshal to be picked. He got to be in boat 50 and was with Kelly Jordan. The kids and I got up that morning to go to the boat launch. We got up at 4:30am so I knew we would all need a nap that day! We watched the boats launched, waved to Daddy and then went to breakfast with Grandma. After breakfast we took a 2 1/2 hour nap, which was great then went back out to the lake to play and swim.

The kids loved playing in the sand and in the lake! The next morning, Sunday, Brandon and Tony got up early and went fishing themselves. The kids and I slept in and then went to breakfast then met up with them at the lake. We then went for a boat ride and then Brandon and I did some fishing. We had such a fun trip and loved being in Louisiana for a few days!